Anna May Wong: From Laundryman's Daughter to Hollywood Legend (review)

International Beauty

I can't wait for the movie! And I hope desperately that there will be a movie of Graham Russell Gao Hodges' biography (one of three recently published) of Chinese-American actress Anna May Wong. Hodges brings to life one of Hollywood's lesser known "legends." Born in 1905 Los Angles to Chinese immigrants, she spent her life attempting to bridge two worlds—something the pioneering Asian-American actress never quite accomplished

Although discouraged by her family, Anna May, a beautiful young girl, longed to be in the movies. In 1919, she landed a small part; by the time she died at the age of 56, her filmography consisted of sixty-one titles.

Hodges emphasizes that during her prime, the actress was a famous international beauty—her photo was ubiquitous in the United States, Europe and China. She was on the cover of Look Magazine's second issue. She designed her own gowns inspiring fashion designers to incorporate Chinese elements into their own creations; she was a spokeswoman for cosmetics.

Much of the tragedy of her life resulted from the fact that Anna May could not escape Asian stereotyping in film. Anna May played the Asian slave girl, mistress, servant or prostitute. In Shanghai Express, Anna May was the Asian prostitute with whom other passengers on the train would not associate; Marlene Dietrich's character, a much more infamous prostitute, walked away in the end with the leading man. In her personal life as well as in her films, Anna May was never allowed to walk away with her leading man inevitably because he was white and she was not.

She died often in her films so that the white characters could enjoy a happy ending unencumbered by the Asian beauty. The Chinese, appalled at Anna May's depiction of Chinese womanhood, regularly wrote scathing reviews of her acting and of her personally. They were especially incensed by the scanty, skin-exposing costumes she wore in many of her early films. Her flimsy costumes in Douglas Fairbanks's Thief of Baghdad, embarrassed her family and led to denouncements by the Chinese film community and the Chinese press.

Impatient for more and better roles, in 1928 Anna May made the first of many voyages to Europe. Hodges relates how she quickly learned European languages (She even took lessons to acquire an upper-class British accent) and became a favorite in film and artistic circles. Europeans seemed entranced by something they had never before encountered —a beautiful, intelligent, well-spoken and very sophisticated Chinese (American) woman. The American actress reveled in her European life where her work was more highly regarded. Hodges quotes one of her Hollywood supporters, Rob Wagner upon her return to the United States: "She had earned the kind of social position [in Europe] that Doug [Fairbanks] craved but was never accorded."

Anna May visited China only once and became acutely aware of her strong ties to Chinese culture. When the Japanese invaded China, Anna May worked indefatigably for China Relief. However, when Madame Chiang Kai-shek appeared on stage at the Hollywood Bowl surrounded by stars, "Conspicuously absent from the stage was Anna May Wong." As Hodges relates, "Madame Chiang was of Chinese nobility and to expect her to share a podium with a laundryman's daughter was beyond imagination." Despite the snub, Anna May continued to work energetically for China Relief.

Her personal life as well as her career experienced ups and downs. Her love affairs always ended sadly—usually because her lover was white, and America, during the racist 20s and 30s, would never tolerate an interracial relationship. However, Anna May had devoted friends, and she remained close to members of her family.

Throughout her life, Anna May worked hard to counter racial stereotyping both personally and professionally...